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Poll: Young voters increasingly happy with Obama

President Obama's job-approval rating among young people has gone up, even as his overall approval rating has hit an all-time low in certain surveys.

A new poll of 18- to 29-year-olds by Harvard University's Institute of Politics (IOP) found 55 percent of so-called Millennials approve of Obama's presidency — a six-point increase over a similar IOP survey in October. His approval rating is even higher among those attending a four-year college, where 60 percent back Obama. That was a nine-point increase from the last survey.

A recent Quinnipiac University survey found Obama's approval rating at just 42 percent, but that survey was of registered voters. Harvard's poll was conducted in online surveys of 3,018 18- to 29-year-old U.S. citizens, and has a margin of error of 2.4 percent. It was in the field from Feb. 11 through March 2.

The findings are good news for Obama, who was propelled into the White House in 2008 with the votes and volunteer hours of millions of young people. Their renewed enthusiasm could help boost his reelection bid.

One other finding that emerged from the survey is that Facebook "statuses" are the second biggest source of news about the presidential race for Millenials. While major national newspapers were the preferred news source for 49 percent of respondents, 36 percent cited Facebook as their top go-to for political coverage.

This comes as campaigns have increasingly sought to boost their social-media presences. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), for instance, recently announced in a video posted on Facebook that he was forming a presidential exploratory committee.